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The International Journal of Indian Psychology  
ISSN 2348-5396 (Online) | ISSN: 2349-3429 (Print) 
Volume 8, Issue 2, April- June, 2020

DIP: 18.01.094/20200802, 
DOI: 10.25215/0802.094

© 2020, D. Nambiar; licensee IJIP. This is an Open Access Research distributed under the terms of the Creative 
Commons Attribution License (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, 
distribution, and reproduction in any Medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The impact of online learning during COVID-19: students’ and

ABSTRACT 
The purpose of this study was to conduct an online survey regarding teacher's and student's 
perception and experience related to online classes. Delivery of classes through online 
medium has been a recent modification brought out by the education system in India in the 
wake of the current pandemic situation. Thus, this survey describes college and university 
teachers and students’ perceptions and concerns with regard to taking online classes that have 
been made mandatory in the wake of COVID19. The sample consisted of 70 teachers and 407 
students from colleges and universities in Bangalore city. Online survey method was used for 
the purpose of data collection. The findings show that the following areas are important for 
teacher and student satisfaction with online classes, these areas are: quality and timely 
interaction between student and professor, technical support availability, structured online 
class modules, and modifications to accommodate conduction of practical classes.

Keywords: Online classes, COVID-19, Survey, Teachers’ Perspective, Students’ Perspective

Online learning and classes are increasingly becoming part of the education system 
worldwide. Online channel has made education convenient and easily accessible by one and 
all. Education sector in India has been an ever-growing entity. India has been one of the 
largest sectors in the world when it comes to higher education. Though online and distance 
courses have been there from a long time, introduction of the online mode of taking classes 
in comparison to the traditional face to face classroom approach in universities and colleges 
have been considered only in the last few years in India. When it comes to the Indian 
educational system, face to face classroom approach has always been the most prominently 
used. Familiarity and ease of using offline methods and lack of requirement for online 
channels of teaching has been the major barriers for adoption of online channels of 
education. However, in the wake of current COVID-19 pandemic situation conduction of 
online classes at college and university level has been made mandatory by the educational 
boards. Covid-19 has brought out a drastic change in the educational system not only in 
India but rather the entire world. Universities across India as well as around the globe have 
moved to the virtual classes suspending physical classrooms. Online education in India is at 
an early stage of development. In India, while this transition has been a mixture of both

1Assistant Professor, Post-Graduate Department of Psychology, Bishop Cotton Women’s Christian College, 
Karnataka, India 
*Responding Author

Received: May 19, 2020; Revision Received: June 18, 2020; Accepted: June 25, 2020

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The impact of online learning during COVID-19: students' and teachers’ perspective

positives and negatives for most private universities, the government colleges and 
universities are still adapting. While technology makes things accessible and easier, it can 
also be limiting, especially in India, where many students face a challenge in terms of access 
to the internet. This in turn leads to issues with attendance and participation in online 
sessions, thereby making the adaptation of online channels of education a challenge. 
 
Meanwhile, face-to-face classroom setting can provide immediate feedback to faculty 
members and students about the quality of lesson, delivery, and experience. In a classroom 
setup a teacher can observe student’s body language and these non-verbal cues helps the 
teacher to immediately make adjustment in their teaching approach to best suit the needs of 
the students. Additional questioning and individualized attention in classroom environment 
to gain a more detailed idea about the student’s clarity with concepts being taught is a major 
advantage when compared to online channels. What might be easily perceived and 
approached in the classroom requires a little more probing and alertness in an online class. 
Investigating and analyzing how online classes should be designed and arranged by taking 
into consideration the students’ and teachers’ perspective should be an integral part of 
building online teaching methodology as well as learning. Previous research studies have 
investigated student’s perception and satisfaction toward online learning and face-to-face 
learning. Fortune, Spielman, and Pangelinan (2011) investigated 156 students who took and 
enrolled in either an online learning section or face-to-face learning of the Recreation and 
Tourism course at multicultural university in Northern California, United States and found 
that no statistically significant difference in learning preference was found between those 
enrolled in the two different learning modes. Another study by Tratnik (2017) indicated 
significant differences in student satisfaction levels when online classes were compared to 
face-to-face learning of English as a foreign language. Students taking the face-to face 
course were found to be more satisfied with the course compared to their online 
counterparts.  
 
When it comes to the Indian educational setup, online classes are a newly introduced mode 
of teaching and not something that has been a part of regular classes. Investigating and 
analyzing how online classes are being perceived and experienced by students and faculties 
across different colleges and universities in India will help educational experts to understand 
and make modifications to suit the needs of both, teachers and students. Consequently, 
educational institutions and management who would be the future deliverers of online 
learning need more understanding of how students as well as teachers perceive and react to 
online classes as a learning mode to apply these approaches most effectively. Another 
important thing noticed in the review of previous studies was that when evaluating online 
mode of education, student’s perspective has been given importance and taken into 
consideration over teacher’s perspective. Teacher’s perspective is equally important because 
if they as provider of education are not satisfied and find the online mode unsatisfactory then 
the educational base itself becomes weaker. This new introduction of online classes has been 
equally challenging for teachers, who are also struggling to learn this new way or 
methodology of teaching. Therefore, the significance of this research lies on exploring the 
Teachers and students’ perception toward online classes in comparison to face-to-face 
classes. The survey focused on teachers and students from colleges and universities in 
Bangalore city. Bangalore being the technology hub could shed light on how the online 
classes are perceived. Thus, the following article describes the results of the survey which 
was done to understand how well this new method is being taken by both teachers and 
students, what are the general problems faced by them while taking online classes so as to 
help educational instructors and facilitators and college and university managements to

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understand the modifications that can be brought to make online teaching more effective so 
that in future it can be integrated along with classroom teaching. The responses from this 
survey will help to improve or enhance online mode of classes in order to provide a better 
learning experience for students and a better teaching experience for the teachers. 
 
METHODOLOGY  
For this study, the author formed two short survey’s: one for the teachers and the other one 
for the students. The survey questions assessed the general perception and experience of 
both students and teachers about online classes. The teacher survey had a cross-section of 6 
demographic questions and 26 questions regarding teacher’s perception about taking online 
classes. Out of the 26 questions 3 items were open ended wherein the teachers were asked to 
tell what according to them were the positive and negative aspects of online teaching and 
what were the applications usually used by them to take online classes. The students survey 
consisted of 6 demographic questions and 19 questions regarding student’s perception about 
online classes. Two open ended questions regarding the positive and negative aspects about 
online classes were kept. Response choices consisted of pre-defined options of agree, 
disagree and neutral. The purpose of the survey was not to collect psychometric data and 
thus the survey did not make use of validated psychometric tools. Due to the current 
COVID-19 situation, the survey was conducted online using google forms. The form was 
made available online on 2nd May’20 for 2 weeks. Teachers and students from Bangalore 
colleges and universities which were conducting online classes were approached and asked 
to complete the survey. A total of 76 teachers and 412 students participated in the survey. 
For the teacher’s survey 70 teachers completed the entire survey i.e. 92.1% of the total 
sample, whereas for the students 407 of them completed the entire survey i.e. 98.7% of the 
total sample. Hence the data of only 70 teachers and 407 students were considered for the 
analysis. No incentives were offered for responding to the survey. The details about the 
survey was shared with the respondents. Completion of the survey was taken as a form of 
consent to participate.  
 
Participant demographics 
Table 1: showing demographic details for teachers

Gender  
Male: 10% (n=7) 
Female: 90% (n=63)

Age  
24-35yrs: 56.9% 
36-50yrs: 32.7% 
Above 50yrs: 10.4%

College: 80.3% 
University: 19.7% 
Private 
institution: 
90.8%

Table 2: showing demographic details for students

Gender  
Male: 12.03% (n=49) 
Female: 83.04% 
(n=338)

Age  
16-18yrs: 7% 
19-23yrs: 88.3% 
23yrs-27yrs: 4.7%

Private institution: 83.5% 
Government institutions: 16.5%

Course  
Pre- 
university 
college: 
8.7%

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Data analysis 
The main purpose of the study was to gather evaluative feedback from university students 
and faculty on their experience about online mode of teaching. A descriptive approach for 
data analysis was considered. Responses to the open-ended questions were transcribed, 
coded, and categorized within each question to determine similar answers. Repetitive 
content of responses was identified. Finally, frequency counts of frequently occurring 
responses were tabulated and converted to percentages for reporting purposes. The section 
below describes the detailed findings of the survey. 
 
RESULTS  
The survey was done to get an understanding of the experience and perception of teachers 
and students about the recently introduced online mode of teaching. The survey results are 
divided into two sections, namely, perception of teachers and perception of students about 
online classes. The results for both are discussed separately. 
 
Teachers perception about online classes 
The teachers survey had items assessing three dimensions: online v/s classroom mode, 
personal factors and students’ factor during online classes. The results of the survey showed 
that 86.9% of the teachers reported that they preferred classroom teaching method more than 
online teaching mode. 11.8% preferred online classes.  
 
Table 3: Survey items on teachers’ perception of online classes

Online classes are more 
effective than classroom 
mode

Online classes are more 
convenient than classroom 
method

There is lack of teacher- 
student interaction in online 
classes

It is difficult to engage 
students in online classes

Online classes are fun and 
interactive than classroom 
method

Teacher- students 
disconnect is felt low in 
online classes compared to 
classroom method

Online classes are not safe 
and secure method

Difficult to keep classes for 
longer duration during 
online classes

It is difficult to control 
group interaction during 
online classes

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Technical issues effect the 
flow and pace of online 
classes

Lack of computer skills 
makes it difficult for me to 
use the online teaching 
method effectively

There is lack of work 
satisfaction while taking 
online classes

Online classes make me 
conscious about my 
teaching skills

I feel lack of motivation to 
take online classes

I get easily distracted during 
online classes

I feel my skills as a teacher 
has improved through 
online teaching method

I am finding it difficult to 
adapt to the online teaching 
mode

Online teaching has boosted 
my confidence as a teacher

Students do not take online 
classes seriously

Students make lot more 
excuse for not attending 
online classes and the 
reliability of it cannot be 
assessed

Students show lack of 
interest and involvement 
during online classes

Teachers felt that even though online classes were convenient, could be taken from the 
comfort of their homes, saving travel time, it did not seem to be effective when compared to 
classroom method. Teacher- student disconnect, lack of interaction, inability to engage the

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group, technical issues were found to be the main issues. 39% of the sample felt that online 
classes were not very safe and secure as a medium. However, teachers did agree to the fact 
that this new opportunity of conducting classes through online channel have increased their 
confidence and helped them to explore and use innovative teaching methods. Lack of work 
satisfaction while taking online classes was also reported. Some of them even felt that their 
lack of computer skill came in the way of using the online teaching platform effectively. 
Lack of student interest and involvement was reported by a majority of teachers. They 
reported that during online classes the main issue they faced were that students made a lot of 
excuses about not being able to attend classes, for e.g., network issue, dysconnectivity, poor 
audio and video quality, etc. and it is difficult for them to know if they are giving genuine 
reasons or just escaping from attending the classes. With classes and assignments using 
online channels, education technology apps are gaining popularity amid COVID-19 
pandemic. The survey also explored what were the online platforms preferred by teachers 
for taking classes and assigning work online.  
 
Graph 1: shows the applications frequently used by teachers for online teaching

Apart from the ones mentioned above some other platforms reported to be used by teachers 
were: google duo, YouTube, Moodle, Jitsi, Microsoft team, WhatsApp, Lark and Avaya 
Space. 
 
When asked about the problems generally faced by them while taking classes online or what 
were the negative aspects of online classes, majority of them (64.2% of the sample) reported 
technical issues like poor connectivity, power cuts, broadband issue, poor audio and video 
quality as the main issue. 37.1% of the teachers reported lack of student involvement and 
engagement in the classes as a problem. They reported that students during online classes 
made a lot of excuses and showed lack of seriousness. This in turn tends to make the 
teachers feel demotivated. 15.7% reported that poor attendance due to reasons like some 
students being in their hometown where connectivity issues are there, followed by lack of 
motivation from students’ side to attend classes was another issue faced. Some of the other

Zoom
Google Classroom
Cisco Webex
Skype
Google meet

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negative aspects of online teaching reported by teachers were: some of them found online 
teaching more time consuming as it required them to prepare ppt and extra materials for the 
classes, some reported that the online mode seemed too formal and lacked personal touch 
and did not seem lively. Difficulty in assessing concept clarity by students and to know if 
they are understanding what is being taught was another issue experienced. Inability to 
monitor and control students behavior, lack of work satisfaction, background distractions, 
time restraints in using online apps, delay in starting the class due to students taking a lot of 
time to join, inability to assess if students are mentally present in the class or have just 
logged in were the other issue reported. Another major issue reported was the problem of 
taking practical subjects online. As per the teacher’s theoretical subjects were easier to take 
but when it comes to practical subjects like design, accounts, math, and others, they found it 
difficult to take the class. 
 
The teachers were also asked to report what according to them were the positive aspects of 
online teaching. Majority (37.1%) felt that online classes were flexible and convenient, 
could be easily accessed, can be scheduled as per their convenience and made evaluation 
and grading work easier. 22.8% reported that online teaching has helped them to upgrade 
their skills as a teacher, they have become technically more skilled, has helped them to learn 
innovative teaching methods and has boosted their confidence. 15.7% felt that online 
teaching saved time, can be taken from the comfort of their homes which in turn saved travel 
time. Other positive aspects reported were: online classes seemed more structured in 
approach, lesser disturbance, innovative tools like screen share can be used, promotes using 
more graphs, charts and videos, can preserve the content of the classes for future reference 
and use, rather than taking the class again for students who missed the class the classes can 
be recorded, makes teaching more systematic. 
 
Students perception about online classes: 
The students survey had items assessing two dimensions: online v/s classroom mode and 
personal factors during online classes. The results of the survey showed that 87.1% of the 
students reported that they preferred classroom teaching method more than online teaching 
mode. 12.9% preferred online classes.  
 
Table 4: Survey questions on Students perception of online classes 
Online v/s classroom teaching mode 
Online classes are more 
effective than classroom 
mode

There is lack of interaction 
during online classes

Quality of discussion is low 
in online classes

Learning and knowledge 
transfer happens more in 
online classes

Online classes are less 
structured than classroom 
mode

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Online v/s classroom teaching mode 
Online classes save time 
Agree  
49.7%

Technical issues disrupt the 
flow and pace of online 
classes

It is difficult to clarify 
doubts in online classes 
compared to classroom 
mode

Personal factors in online classes 
Lack of computer skills 
makes me uncomfortable 
during online classes

I feel more comfortable to 
participate in online class 
discussions compared to 
classroom

I find it difficult to 
understand and follow 
online classes

I get easily distracted and 
have difficulty concentrating 
during online classes

I feel lazy and disinterested 
during online classes

I do not feel motivated to 
participate in online class 
discussions

Looking at table 4, it can be seen that when it came to online classes, students perceived the 
online classes to lack quality. Things such as technical issues, lack of structure, disturbance 
in the flow of classes, problems in clarifying doubts, lack of interest and motivations to 
attend the classes were some prominent factors reducing the effectiveness of online classes. 
Even though today’s generation is technologically well versed still the survey showed that 
majority of the sample reported that somewhere they felt their lack of computer skills made 
it uncomfortable for them to use the online channel.  
 
The students were also asked 2 open ended questions about the pros and cons of online 
mode of classes. When asked about the problems generally faced by them during classes 
online or what were the negative aspects of online classes, majority of them (55.7% of the 
sample) reported technical issues like poor network connectivity, power cuts, broadband 
issue, poor audio and video quality, problems with the app, getting disconnected in between 
the classes and finding it hard to log in again as the main issues. 23.3% reported that they 
found it difficult to concentrate during online classes, distraction at home were more, no 
structured learning environment makes it harder for the students to focus during the class. 
They also reported that being at home makes online classes burdening for them as they are

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unable to manage both house work and college work at the same time. Some of them even 
reported that having lack of supportive home environment and family issues makes it harder 
for them to fully involve themselves during online classes. 22.1% reported that online 
classes were difficult to understand and follow especially when it came to practical subjects, 
lack of concept clarity, no structured format or time scheduled followed. According to them 
too many subjects are scheduled on the same day which makes it difficult for them to stay 
alert and active. They feel information overload and fatigued. 15.4% reported the online 
classes to be less interactive, no communication between students or with teachers and 
makes it harder to participate. Thus, the online classes they felt were less lively, lacked 
friendly atmosphere and social interaction.  12.7% of them felt lack of motivation and 
interest to attend online classes. They felt that online classes make them less serious and 
they just attend the class for attendance and feel bored and lazy. Some of the other issues 
reported were financial constraints. Students reported that the online classes increased their 
expense by recharging the data frequently, due to which they felt burdened, especially for 
students who come from financially fewer stable homes. Next concern was that online 
facility and tools were not accessible for students coming from economically disadvantaged 
backgrounds which again adds on to the burden of buying a smartphone which is financially 
burdening for some. Students felts that when classes are taken through online channels, 
teachers do not teach effectively, they run through the syllabus and students feel they are 
being overloaded with information. Security concerns about using online apps were also 
reported. Last but not the least, students reported a lot of physical issue due to online classes. 
According to them continuous use of mobile phones and earphones caused issues like, eye 
strain and pain, ear pain, backache, headache. They felt stressed and strained both mentally 
and physically. The constant pressure of completion of assignments was reported by 
students that induced a lot of stress in them. They felt that no learning or transfer of 
knowledge was taking place. 
 
When it came to the positive aspect of online classes majority found it to be time saving, as 
it could be done from the comfort of the home which save time to travel and commute, don’t 
have to rush to reach college. Other positive things reported were: faster completion of 
syllabus, recording of classes helped in referring to it later. The recorded classes could be 
watched again and again until the concept is clear. Classes can be attended anywhere, 
anytime thus, giving flexibility. Lesser disturbance from classmates, less anxiety in asking 
doubts and queries were also added among the others. 
  
DISCUSSION  
The result of this study indicates that face- to- face learning was perceived more positively 
than online learning in term of social presence, interaction, satisfaction and overall quality. 
Even though online classes were reported to be convenient in term of saving time, still both 
teachers as well as the students perceived it to be less effective and structured when 
compared to classroom mode of learning. Technical support was found to be an important 
factor critical to determining satisfaction with online classes. Yang and Cornelius (2004) in 
their study had reported similar findings. They found that students showed dissatisfaction 
with their courses when instructors were unavailable to provide technical support. Students 
also reported dissatisfaction when they had limited technical skills (Zeng & Perris, 2004). 
Thus, these findings from previous studies are in tandem with the current survey results 
where technical issues were found to be the most influential factor when it came to 
satisfaction with online classes. The results found here will thus allow college administrators 
to determine how technical support can be expanded and extended to reach all students and 
teachers, thereby, improving their experience and making the classes more effective.

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Another finding from the current survey which is found to be consistent with previous 
research (O'Malley & McGraw, 1999), was that students when enroll for online classes they 
initially feel that they are unable to learn as much in online courses as they used to in face-
to-face courses. This dissatisfaction further effects the learning process. Zeng and Perris 
(2004) also reported similar findings. Therefore, the educational institutions should provide 
opportunities for students to become comfortable with the medium before they take online 
classes. Results of the current study indicate that student and teachers’ perceptions are 
valuable to educational institutions planning to adapt online mode of teaching in the future. 
However, this survey has its limitations. The small sample may not be completely 
representative of the majority of students and teachers taking online classes. Social 
desirability might have colored the test taking behavior of the subjects.  
 
CONCLUSION  
Higher education in India is currently restricted by lack of clarity when it comes to 
regulating online channels of education. Teachers and students' comfort with online class 
design, structure, level of interaction between students and faculty, the quality and amount 
of class content, technical support, and overall experience with online class delivery impact 
the overall teaching and learning experience and determines the ultimate success or failure 
of online mode of education. Thus, awareness needs to be increased focusing on the 
convenience and accessibility aspect in order to increase the adoption of online channels by 
students and teachers. Frustration with class structure and design may translate into a poor 
learning outcome for students. Improving the quality of online classes with the help of 
various service providers, along with support from different colleges and universities can 
help in making online mode of education more effective and easily acceptable all over India. 
The concerns suggested by teachers and students point towards the fact that more research 
and study should be conducted to provide more detailed information for changes to occur 
within design and methodology of online classes. Establishing a structured and user-friendly 
environment for online mode of education, one that is accessible for all without putting 
financial burden on students and teachers should be the main criteria in the minds of college 
and university management while promoting online education. Also, the need for providing 
adequate technological training to teachers about method of conducting online classes 
should be prioritized as it is found to be a pre-requisite for successful online class 
implementation. Although the sample size is small to generalize to the larger online higher 
education population, the information can throw light on the general issues faced by teachers 
and students during online classes. Online mode of higher education is still in the early stage 
of development in India, therefore having clarity about the problems experienced and the 
expectations of students and teachers will help to plan out effective and structured strategies 
for taking online classes. It is important to note that the survey showed agreement between 
faculty and student perceptions of online mode of teaching. The opinion of both were 
reflective and supportive of one another.   
 
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Fortune M, Spielman M and Pangelinan D 2011 Students’ perceptions of online or face-to-

face learning and social media in hospitality, recreation and tourism Journal of 
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Jones I and Blankenship D (2017). Students’ perception of online courses. Journal of

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Lao, T., & Gonzales, C. (2005). Understanding online learning through a qualitative

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O'Malley, J., & McGraw, H. (1999). Students perceptions of distance learning, online

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Yang, Y., & Cornelius, L. F. (2004). Students' perceptions towards the quality of online

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Acknowledgements  
The author appreciates all those who participated in the study and helped to facilitate the 
research process. 
 
Conflict of Interest  
The author declared no conflict of interest.  
 
How to cite this article: D. Nambiar (2020). The impact of online learning during COVID-
19: students' and teachers’ perspective. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 8(2), 
783-793. DIP:18.01.094/20200802, DOI:10.25215/0802.094

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